StorCase Technology SCSI-to-SCSI Single RAID - Manual (Page 33)

DXIFS-160/RAID User's Guide - Rev. B00 StorCase Technology, Inc.
Configuration 23
Add Spare
This command allows the user to add dedicated spares to the current array. It is enabled only
if there are unconfigured drives that are available for use as a dedicated spare. If a mirrored,
RAID 3, RAID 4, RAID 5, or RAID 50 array without spare drives (RAID 0 arrays and volume sets
never have have spares) is created, up to four spare drives can be added later. Spare drives
are activated automatically if a drive in the array fails.
NOTE: A spare that does not have enough capacity to replace the smallest member in the
array (less any backoff percentage) cannot be added.
Understanding Spare Drives
The RAID Module allows two types of spare drive assignments - Dedicated and Pool. Array
reconstruction using a spare drive is started automatically by the controller if an array member
drive fails. If an array has one or more dedicated spares and there are pool spares available,
the controller will use the dedicated spare drives first.
Adding Dedicated Spare Drives
Spare drives are used to allow automatic reconstruction of an array that has lost member
drives. Dedicated spare drives are only used to reconstruct the array they are dedicated to,
even if another array in the system is critical.
Spare drives can be added to Mirrored (RAID 1 and RAID 10) and Parity (RAID 3, RAID 4, RAID
5, and RAID 50) arrays after the arrays have been created, but are limited to a total of four
dedicated spare drives per array.
For each spare drive to add to an array:
1. Select Add Spare from the Array Menu.
2. Select the drive to add as a spare and press Enter.
3. Type Y and hit Enter to confirm the choice (or N and Enter to cancel the choice).
NOTE: If a drive was a member of an array and removed from the array, it cannot be used
as a spare until the drive's metadata is cleared. This can be done using the Clear
Metadata function in the Drive Utilities menu.